Of Friends and Secrets
by shopgirl152
Summary: Secret Bear and Friend Bear have been friends for a long time, but when they're sent on a caring mission to help a boy named Danny, they'll discover something wonderful.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **First fanfiction of the new year! Yay! I do not own The Care Bears or anything associated with them.

* * *

"Secret, wake up! Secret!" Secret Bear stirred slightly, rolling over onto his back. Somebody was shaking him. "Come on, Secret Bear, get up!" The voice was vaguely familiar, as though he always heard it. He heard it everyday actually. Wait. Secret rolled over onto his other side, opening up one eye. He looked up into the face of Friend Bear, who was standing over him, chuckling. "Boy, Secret Bear, it sure takes a lot to wake you up; you're a sound sleeper." She laughed again, causing him to smile. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast. We have a caring mission today."

Secret watched his friend as she made her way over to the kitchen, getting a mug down from the cupboard. He reached his paws up, putting them behind his head. Sometimes it was nice to just watch her as she puttered around the kitchen in the mornings. He had been roommates with Friend for a year now, and everyday was the same: he'd sleep in; she'd try and try to wake him up, finally succeeding; she would laugh and give him a smile before heading to the kitchen; he would watch her for a bit—

"Come on sleepyhead. Get up." Friend stood in front of Secret, her hands on her hips, mock annoyance on her face. "We're supposed to meet Tenderheart at the Hall of Hearts in five minutes." Secret lazily glanced up at the heart shaped clock on the wall… five minutes! He had to get ready! He jumped out of bed, almost knocking Friend over.

"Whoa! Slow down Secret Bear. It's just five minutes; we have plenty of time. Tenderheart will wait for us." Secret nodded vigorously, then headed towards the bathroom. Halfway down the hall, though, he remembered something. He turned around and almost ran back to Friend, throwing his arms around her.

Friend hugged back tightly. "What was that for?" Secret pulled away from her, then cupped his hands around her ears, whispering something. She smiled. "I agree; it's nice to get a hug in the morning. Especially from a friend." She smiled as Secret hugged her again, then waddled off to the bathroom.

* * *

Secret emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, ready to start the mission; but first, breakfast. He was hungry!

"Hey, there you are. I made us breakfast." Friend placed two steaming hot plates in front of herself and Secret. Secret sat down at the table, inhaling the tantalizing aroma of the pancakes. He smiled at her appreciatively. "You're welcome," she said with a smile. He cut a piece of the pancake, popping it into his mouth, grinning as he swallowed. "Good?" He nodded.

Suddenly, Secret remembered something. He set down his fork, then motioned to Friend excitedly. "Oh? You had a dream last night?" He nodded, standing up to act it out for his friend. He made a punching motion, then wiggled like a snake, trying to make his eyes look red.

Friend Bear smiled. "You dreamt we were fighting Dark Heart?" Secret nodded. "You and me, or was it all of us?" Secret made a wide sweeping gesture with his arms. "All of us?" He nodded. Friend smiled. "Did we win?" Secret held out his arm, acting like he was brandishing a sword. He jab the sword back and forth, then threw the sword down, clapping his hands together, waving them over his head in victory. He sat back down at the table, waiting for Friend's response.

"It's good to win in dreams." She laughed. "Especially when it's against Dark Heart." Secret nodded, taking another bite of pancake. "You know, I have dreams about Dark Heart too sometimes." Secret's face fell. Friend smiled, reaching across the table, putting her paw on top of his. "It's okay Secret Bear; the dreams aren't as frequent anymore. Are they for you?" Secret stopped mid bite, thinking. He shook his head. "That's good. And hey, we did beat him, remember?" Secret nodded again; how could he forget? Dark Heart was the worst villain they ever fought; aside from the demon that possessed Nicholas.

Friend removed her paw from Secret's, getting up from the table to clear the dishes. Secret stared at his empty paw, taking one last bite of pancake. "You ready to go?" Friend was standing over him again, watchful as always; Secret looked up, nodding. "That's good. Now come on, we're late."


	2. Chapter 2

Tenderheart paced back and forth in front of the Hall of Hearts. He looked at his watch. "Where are those two? They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago." He stood with his hands on his hips, watching a nearby cloud bank. Suddenly, two figures appeared; one a light orange, the other a pale tan. "There they are! Finally!" Tenderheart smiled as the pair walked up to him.

"Sorry we're late Tenderheart. We would have been here sooner, but Sleepyhead over here had a hard time getting out of bed this morning." Friend nodded to Secret Bear, who leaned over, whispering in her ear. "It's not my fault you stayed up all night eating snacks with Grumpy." She put her hands on her hips. "Wait. Why _were_ you up all night eating snacks with Grumpy?"

"Oh, Grumpy was hungry all day," replied Tenderheart. He laughed. "I guess we didn't give him enough time to eat breakfast before we went looking for Alice."

"Alice?" Friend tilted her head to the side. "Who's Alice?"

"Oh, Alice was just this ordinary girl. Not so ordinary now; she saved Wonderland."

"Oh! You mean the Wonderland mission!"

"Yes."

"Wait a minute…we didn't go on that mission." She turned to Secret Bear again. "If we didn't go on that mission, how did you know that Grumpy was in the kitchen last night?" Secret Bear smiled, sniffing the air, licking his lips and rubbing his tummy. Friend Bear laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You were hungry all day too!" Secret sniffed the air again. "And you have a nose for food!" She smiled good naturedly at her friend.

Tenderheart shook his head in amusement. "Okay you two. Can we get back to the mission now? We have a job to do."

"Sure thing Tenderheart. Just tell us what you want us to do." Secret Bear nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay, here it is." Tenderheart pulled out Wish Bear's starscope, extending it to its full length as he made his way over to a nearby cloud. He turned around to Friend and Secret, motioning them over. "Over here you two."

Friend and Secret got on either side of Tenderheart, peering over the cloud, looking down at the world below. Tenderheart lifted the starscope to his eye, looking through it, appearing to search for something. "Okay, there he is."

"There who is?"

"Danny."

"Danny?"

"Yes. Danny is a boy down on earth who needs our help." Tenderheart passed the starscope over to Friend, who looked through it, her eye drawn to what looked like a ten year old boy, sitting on the front steps of a school, children running in and out of the building.

"He looks lonely."

"Yes. We need to help him. Problem is, I don't know how. I've been watching him for a few days and he seems to have a lot of friends. I don't know how he could be lonely."

"Maybe he—" Friend Bear was stopped short as Secret tapped her on the shoulder. "What's up Secret Bear?" Secret pointed to the starscope, motioning to himself. "Oh, here you go." Friend handed the starscope over to Secret, before turning back to Tenderheart.

Secret fogged the lens of the starscope, then rubbed it clean with a furry paw. He held the starscope up to his eye, searching the playground for Danny. He found him just as Friend and Tenderheart had; sitting on the steps, all by himself. Every so often, a kid would pass by, saying hello. Danny smiled, appearing to say hello back, before turning his attention to something in his hand. Secret adjusted the starscope, zooming in, attempting to get a good look at what Danny was holding. Still to far away. Secret leaned over the cloud as far as he could, attempting a closer look.

"Secret, don't you think…?" Friend turned to Secret Bear…just in time to see him lose his footing on the cloud. "SECRET!" Friend lunged for Secret, grabbing his ankles in the nick of time. She tried to keep the panic out of her voice. "Secret! What are you doing?!"

Meanwhile, Secret was dangling below the cloud, his eye to the starscope. He zoomed in on what Danny was holding. A white piece of paper with a name on it: Chloe. Just as he was about to zoom in further, he felt himself being hauled back up to the top of the cloud.

He landed on the cloud with a soft plop, coming face to face with Friend. She didn't look happy. "Secret Bear, why did you do that? You could have fallen." Her bottom lip quivered; she looked ready to cry. Secret stood up, giving her a hug. She sniffed, quickly wiping her eyes. "Thanks." Secret Bear pulled back, looking at her, making sure she was okay. She gave a weak smile. "So, what were you doing anyway?"

Secret whispered something in her ear. "A note? Danny was holding a note?" Secret nodded.

"Here Secret Bear, let me see." Tenderheart held out his paw, motioning for the starscope. Secret handed the starscope over.

"So, Friend asked, did you see what the note said?" Secret started to shake his head, then remembered the name. He whispered it into Friend's ear. "Chloe? Hmmm…."

Tenderheart put the starscope down, turning to his friends. "Secret Bear's right; the note has the name Chloe on it. It looks like a love note."

"A love note? What's a love note?"

Tenderheart smiled. "A love note is a note you write when you really care about someone. It's a way to say 'I love you.'"

"Can't they just tell the person they care about that they love them?"

"Well…I guess—"

"Of course they can't!" The three bears turned around, noticing Love-a-Lot behind them.

"Oh. Hi Love-a-Lot." Tenderheart greeted her.

"Hi Tenderheart. Sorry, I didn't mean to butt in, I just couldn't help it."

Tenderheart smiled. "That's okay, no harm done. Now, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that of course you can't tell the person you love that you love them."

"Why not?" Friend Bear tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, for Care Bears, it's an easy thing; it's harder for boys and girls."

"But, why?"

"Because those feelings are deeper than most feelings of caring. They usually mean that you want to spend as much time as you can with someone, that you would do anything for them and that you will take care of them. These feelings make you feel warm and fuzzy inside and make your heart beat faster when you see them."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense then."

Tenderheart turned to Love-a-Lot. "Love-a-Lot, since you seem to know a lot about love, could you help us with this mission?"

"Sure Tenderheart. What's the mission?"

"There's a little boy on earth, Danny, who's holding a love note with the name Chloe on it; he looks lonely, but I'm not sure why."

"He must care about Chloe very much."

"Then why won't he talk to her?"

"Loving someone that much takes courage; If you want to let someone know how you feel, you have to tell them. That's the hard part."

"Well, what should we do?"

"We need to help Danny believe in himself, and to tell him that he should tell Chloe how he feels. That's why people write love notes; to let someone know how they feel about them."

Secret stood away from the others, listening to the conversation intently. Hard to tell people you love them, doing anything for someone, wanting to be with them all the time, warm and fuzzy feelings, a fast heartbeat. It all sounded so familiar; maybe he should write a love note to someone…

"Secret Bear, are you coming?" Secret was snapped out his musings by Friend. He looked over toward the three Care Bears, who were seated in the cloud car: Tenderheart and Love-a-Lot in the front, Friend in the back. "Come on Secret Bear!" Secret smiled as he jumped into the back of the cloud car next to Friend, feeling warm and fuzzy all over.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Tenderheart turned around, making sure all the bears were accounted for. Everyone nodded. "Okay then, let's go help Danny!" Tenderheart turned the key in the ignition, pointing the cloud car toward earth.


	3. Chapter 3

The cloud car touched down on the playground a few minutes later, poofing out of existence as the four bears scanned the playground.

"See him anywhere?"

"I don't see Danny anywhere, Tenderheart, there's a lot of kids running around here." Love-a-Lot shielded her eyes from the sun, looking around.

"There he is!" Friend Bear pointed to a boy sitting alone on the steps in front of the school.

"Great work Friend Bear, you found him!" said Love-a-Lot happily. "Let's go talk to him!" She led the charge, making a beeline for Danny.

As Tenderheart and Friend began to follow Love-a-Lot, Secret hung back, noticing a boy giving a flower to a pretty girl. The girl giggled, blushing slightly, before hugging the boy. Secret put his paws underneath his head, swaying back and forth.

"Secret, you coming?" Friend walked up behind him. Secret turned around, pointing to the boy and girl excitedly. "Huh? Oh." She smiled. "That's cute, isn't it?" Secret nodded. "I guess that's what humans do when they really care about someone and want to say I love you." She smiled as the boy and girl held hands, disappearing around the corner of the school. "Well, come on Secret Bear, we can't play around all day; let's catch up with Love-a-Lot and Tenderheart." She grabbed Secret's hand, pulling him away. He grinned broadly, his smile widening further as he happily noticed several flowers blooming around the school, each one prettier than the last. Maybe he should give a flower to somebody.

* * *

Danny sat on the steps of the school, head in his hands. He sighed, looking longingly across the playground at Chloe. "She's so pretty; I'd wish she'd notice me." He sighed again, then looked up just in time to see four furry bears walking toward him. One was a dark red, with a red heart on his tummy; one was pink with two intertwined hearts on her tummy and following along behind her were a pair of bears, one a light orange, the other a pale tan. The light orange one had a pair of intertwined daisies on her tummy, while the other had a heart shaped lock with a key on his tummy. He watched as the red one walked up to him, smiling broadly.

"Hi there, I'm Tenderheart."

Danny blinked, not sure what he was seeing. "I'm Danny." He turned toward the rest of the bears. "Who are you?"

"We're the Care Bears," announced Friend Bear, walking up behind Tenderheart with Secret in tow. "I'm Friend Bear and this is Secret Bear." Secret smiled, extending his hand to shake Danny's.

Danny shook it smiling, before turning to Friend Bear. He pointed to Secret Bear. "Does he talk?"

Friend laughed. "Oh, he talks; he's just very quiet. But, if you want to tell someone a secret, he's the one to tell. He will never tell secrets." Secret nodded his head, pretending to zip his lip and throw away the key. Danny laughed.

"I'm Love-a-Lot." Love-a-Lot walked up behind Friend Bear, standing next to her. "We're here to help you share your feeling with Chloe; we know you care about her very much."

Danny's face fell. "I don't think I can; I'm to scared to talk to her. I've liked her for a long time, but…she doesn't even notice me."

"Maybe she does notice you, but is scared to talk to you too," Friend pointed out. Secret nodded in agreement.

"It's hard to tell someone that you care for them; but with friends, you can do anything. That's why we're here." Tenderheart layed a paw gently on Danny's shoulder. "How can we help?"

"I don't want any help; she'll never talk to me okay? Just…leave me alone!" Danny pulled Tenderheart's paw off his shoulder, then stalked off around the building.

Love-a-Lot looked at Tenderheart, concern clouding her eyes. "Now what do we do Tenderheart?"

"Let's leave him alone for awhile; feelings like that are hard to deal with; we'll check on him in a little bit."

Love-a-Lot sighed. "I guess you're right. So, now what do we do? We can't go back to Care-a-Lot; we have to finish this mission."

"Why don't we play tetherball?" Friend motioned to an empty tetherball court in the distance.

"Good idea Friend Bear." Tenderheart smiled. "We'll play tetherball, then check on Danny in a little bit. Come on." Tenderheart motioned his friends forward with a wave of his paw, heading toward the tetherball court.

"Come on Secret Bear, let's go play tetherball." Friend reached her hand out, feeing for Secret. "Secret Bear?" She turned around, looking for him. "Secret Bear?" She put her paws on her hips. "That's funny; he was here a minute ago. I wonder where he went?"

* * *

Secret poked his head around the corner, watching as Friend walked off to join the others. He knew he should have told somebody where he was going, but this was important. Danny needed him. He looked from the left, then back to the right, making sure he was alone. Deciding that the coast was clear, he stepped out, walking in the direction Danny had gone.

* * *

"Tenderheart? Tenderheart!" Tenderheart looked up, ducking as the tetherball whizzed past his head.

"What's wrong Friend Bear?"

"I can't find Secret Bear. We were standing behind you guys when we were talking to Danny, and when I went to grab him for tetherball, he wasn't there." Friend looked ready to cry. Tenderheart walked over, putting a comforting paw around her shoulder.

"It's okay Friend Bear; I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

Love-a-Lot paused mid-hit, dropping the tetherball to see what all the commotion was about. "Yeah Friend Bear, Tenderheart's right; he's around here somewhere. Secret would never leave you. You two are best friends."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Friend smiled, hastily wiping away her tears.

"That's the spirit!" Tenderheart walked back over to the tetherball, picking it up. "It'll be alright Friend Bear, Secret Bear would never leave you; he loves you to much."

"You guys are so close, you're practically glued to each other," Love-a-Lot teased as she whacked the tetherball back to Tenderheart.

Friend hung her head, silently blushing.


	4. Chapter 4

Secret Bear found Danny on the other side of the school, sitting on a playground swing, gliding his feet across the sand.

Secret walked up to Danny, waving. Danny looked up, expressionless. "What do you want?" Secret pulled himself up on the swing next to Danny, his legs dangling far above the ground. "Kind of short, aren't you?" Secret shrugged, smiling. "Guess you want to help me huh? Like the others did. Well, I don't want to talk; I don't need someone telling me what to do."

Secret nodded, understanding completely. He pretended to zip his lip. Danny looked up again, recognition dawning on his face. "Wait; you're the Care Bear that keeps secrets, aren't you?" Secret nodded vigorously. "So…if I tell you a secret, you won't tell anyone?" Secret nodded again. Danny sighed. "It's just…I really like Chloe, you know? I see her in the hallway and I get warm and fuzzy all over. I also smile a lot when I see her. My heart seems to beat faster too. I just want to be with her all the time." Secret smiled. "But…I can't. It's just to hard to tell her. I mean, I wrote her a love note, see?" He dug in the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Everything I just told you is in this note, but…I'll never have the courage to give it to her." Danny swung himself off the swing, walking away.

Secret climbed off the swing, running to catch up with Danny. He waved his arms over his head, but Danny didn't see him. He ran faster, until he was just ahead of Danny. He turned around, putting his paws out in an attempt to stop him. Danny grumbled, but stopped. "Look Secret Bear, I know you're trying to help me and everything, but I just can't do it. Nobody understands what I'm going through."

Secret frowned, then grabbed Danny's hand, pulling him toward the tetherball court. "Huh? Where are you taking me?" Secret didn't turn around or make any motions until they were a little ways from the tetherball court. Close enough to see the other Care Bears, but far enough away to be out of sight. "Why'd you bring me here?" Secret pointed to his friends. "Oh. Your friends are playing tetherball; that's cool. Look's like Love-a-Lot's winning." Secret smiled; Love-a-Lot had always been good at tetherball. He shook his head; no time for distractions now. He turned Danny so he was facing in Friend's direction. Secret pointed her out. "Oh; that's…Friend Bear, isn't it?" Secret nodded. "She's your buddy, isn't she?" Secret nodded again, then turned toward Danny, putting his hand over his heart, making a thumping motion.

"Fast heartbeat? What?" Secret put his paw down in frustration; he had to get his message across, but how? He turned toward the tetherball court; right as he did so, Friend spotted him. She grinned broadly, waving at him. He waved back, a broad smile creeping across his face. Danny turned just in time to see Secret blush. "Oh! She…wait a minute…you like her, don't you?" Secret nodded, feeling sheepish. "Have you told her yet?" Secret shook his head. "Why not?" The tan bear shrugged. "Hard for you too, huh?" Secret nodded.

Danny looked at the four bears, thinking. He turned to Secret Bear. "You know Secret Bear, we're a lot alike; we both have girls that we like, but we don't have the courage to tell them." Secret nodded. "How about this; I'll talk to Chloe, or at least give her my love note, and you talk to Friend Bear? I tell Chloe how I feel and you can tell Friend how you feel." Secret looked unsure. "Come on Secret Bear; I don't want to do it anymore than you do, but at least…at least we can be scared together." Secret smiled, nodding. If Danny could do it, so could he. "It's a deal then." Danny held out his hand; Secret took it, shaking it up and down.

"There you are Secret Bear!" Friend walked up behind Secret Bear, giving him a warm hug. "I was wondering where you were. Where did you go?" Secret pointed to Danny. "Oh, you went to find Danny. Good job." Friend looked at Danny. "Did you have a nice talk?"

"Yeah, we did."

"Have you decided what to do about Chloe, Danny?" asked Tenderheart, walking up.

"I'm going to tell her how I feel. Right after school."

"That's wonderful Danny; she'll be happy to hear that. We'll be thinking about you." Love-a-Lot smiled.

"So long Care Bears and thanks for everything." Danny waved as he headed back to the school. He winked at Secret Bear.

Friend looked at Secret quizzically. "Secret Bear, did Danny just wink at you?' Secret nodded. "What was that about?" Secret shrugged, then pulled Friend towards the cloud car, his heart beating rapidly.

"Well Care Bears, looks like our work here is done; let's go home." Tenderheart headed back to the cloud car.

"Sounds good to me Tenderheart." Love-a-Lot followed Tenderheart to the cloud car, hopping in the front seat next to her friend, while Secret and Friend climbed in the back.

"Alright Care Bears, let's go home!" With that, Tenderheart steered the cloud car towards Care-a-Lot.


	5. Chapter 5

Secret Bear lay on his belly on a cloud, watching the world through Wish Bear's starscope. He swung the starscope around, searching for Danny. He found him over by the swing set, talking to a pretty girl. Secret watched as Danny handed the girl the note, waiting anxiously. The girl read the note, blushing slightly, then jumped up off the swing, throwing her arms around Danny, who smiled warmly. Secret smiled as Danny and Chloe clasped hands, then walked around the corner towards the other part of the school.

Secret sighed, sitting up, his feet stretched out in front of him. Danny had done his part; now he had to do his. But how to do it? He put his head in his paw, thinking. There were so many things he could do; he could write a love note, send a flower…He could hug her. No, he did that anyway; that wouldn't mean anything; him and Friend hugged all the time. He sighed again.

"Hi Secret Bear!" Secret waved as Love-a-Lot walked up to him. "Some mission today huh?" He nodded as Love-a-Lot plopped down on the cloud next to him, tucking her knees up to her chest. "I love helping the kids on earth; it makes me feel good." Secret nodded in agreement. "What are you doing on this cloud anyway?" Secret turned around, pointing to where Danny and Chloe were now standing, looking at each other. He watched in surprise as the two of them got closer, their lips touching. They seemed to like it, as they pulled away, smiled, and touched their lips to each other again.

Without looking, Secret tapped Love-a-Lot on the shoulder. "Huh?" She leaned over the cloud to get a closer look. She smiled to herself. "Oh, that's kissing." Secret looked at her, scratching his head in confusion. Love-a-Lot laughed gently. "Kissing is what you do when you really care about someone. Kissing is a very special thing shared by two people; you only do it to people you really care about and have warm, fuzzy feelings for." Secret leaned in toward Love-a-Lot, getting extremely close. She gently pushed him away, chuckling. "No, you don't kiss friends; only people you want to give love notes to, or people you want to give a flower to, like them." She pointed to Danny, who was picking a flower and giving it to Chloe. "You know, I don't really know why humans kiss; I guess it makes them feel good." She patted Secret Bear on the shoulder, standing up. "Well, good-night Secret Bear, it was nice talking to you."

Secret waved as Love-a-Lot headed to her house. What if he kissed Friend Bear? Would she like it? But…Love-a-Lot said you don't kiss friends; would that be violating a rule? Secret crossed his arms across his chest in frustration. He sighed, then stood up; he should be getting home.

"Hi Secret Bear, what are you doing?" Secret felt his heart beat faster as Friend walked up to him, smiling broadly. He shrugged his shoulder, uncrossing his arms. "You don't know what you're doing up here?" He smiled slightly. Friend laughed. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me; I know you have your own secrets. Ready to go home?" Secret nodded and was about to fall in to step behind her when he had an idea; he tapped Friend lightly on the shoulder. She turned around. "What is it Secret Bear?" He pointed up at the stars in the sky, Friend looking up. "Wow, look at all the stars." She turned to him. "They sure are pretty, aren't they?" Secret nodded, kicking at a nearby cloud, then looked at Friend again. "Are you alright? You're looking at me funny."

Without a second thought, Secret Bear gently stepped over to Friend Bear, leaning in closer and closer until his lips touched hers. He started to pull away when, to his surprise, Friend leaned in; her lips touching back, making him feel warm and fuzzy all over. The kiss felt wonderful; he had never felt this happy in his entire life. The feeling was incredible.

Friend pulled back, looking embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry Secret; I don't know what came over me. I…" Her voice trailed off as Secret cradled her head in his paws, leaning in to kiss her again. He knew what to do this time. He kissed her softly, then pulled away. "Oh Secret Bear, what took you so long?" He smiled, then kissed her again.

For a long time after that, all any Care Bear in Care-a-Lot could see were two bears, one light orange, one pale tan, kissing and holding each other under the moonlight.


End file.
